When A Lone Wolf Howls
by D3m01u3
Summary: Have you ever wondered what happened exactly during the Third Shinobi War or how it affected a certain Hatake and how he viewed it from his own point of view? What made him into the one we know and love today? Based on Kakashi Gaiden.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of its characters. Any characters in this story that are not from Naruto are original characters that belong to the writer and the writer alone.

The bold letters in the story are songs from the naruto soundtrack and may represent the mood of the scene.

* * *

><p><strong>Bad Situation<strong>

Failure...

That was the only word ringing throughout the young boys mind. He failed. Throughout his entire shinobi career this was the only mission he ever failed. He failed the village,his sensei, and his teammates. What made him feel even angrier was that it wasn't even his fault!

It was all that idiots fault. He wasn't the one to blame, it was that wannabe shinobi. Even Obito wouldn't of done something stupid enough. Team 7 alone should have been the only ones to do this mission and not those rejects.

He quickly jumped from tree to tree just barely avoiding a kunai that would of burrowed itself in his head. He turned to face his attacker and his expression turned grim. His opponent was Gari Bakuhatsu. A famed Jounin from Iwa that was well known for his kekkai genkai bakuton. If there were a fight to run away from this was one of them but that would be avoiding the inevitable.

Although he would hate to admit he was still a child. This man was a seasoned shinobi and possessed much more experience compared to himself. The man would catch him and kill him sooner or later and Konoha was too far out. If he wanted to live he would have to stay and fight.

As sweat poured down his face the things around him became much clearer. The bugs clicking and rustling of the leaves. His eyes were glued to Gari as he focused on his adversary. If he were to win he would need to aware of everything. It was times like these he wished he had the sharingan but that didn't matter now.

He stared down his opponent and settled down into a fighting stance. As Gari settled into his own fighting stance Kakashi for the first time in his life prayed that he would survive. As he waited for the first move Kakashi couldn't help but let his mind wander to the day they received this mission.

* * *

><p><strong>Evening<strong>

Two Days ago...

The skies were black and dreary signifying the mood of the village below. Bodies of the deceased were carried through the northern gates by various shinobi. The citizens of Konohagakure could only watch, praying that none of those dead were dear family or friends. To the civilians war was absolute hell. To the orphaned ninja and clans, it was a way of life. To Kakashi Hatake it was a mix of both. Tensions were high and only time could tell when the war would finally end.

He walked through the streets on his way towards the hokage tower with his teammate Obito Uchiha behind him. He had just received details of a new mission and were to report immediately to the Hokage's office for briefing. Obito wasn't as energetic as he usually was but who could blame him. It was getting more and more difficult for them to repel Iwa's forces and Kumo were getting bolder and bolder with their raids. If they didn't have treaties and Suna and some of the smaller lands they may have well lost the war.

"Do you think it'll end soon" a voice rang through his ears

"I don't know Obito. Its impossible to tell how long this war will last. For all we know by the time it ends we might be dead. Instead of focusing on how long the war will end you should be more focused on your training"

That got the boy to shut up. Kakashi didn't mean to come off as negative but he was just speaking the truth. As of lately they were getting missions that would put them in the line of fire and there was simply no telling what might happen. As the tower came in sight Kakashi pondered what type of mission they would receive but whether it be dangerous or not he will complete it because he was a shinobi so himself was a tool of war for the village.

When they finally reached the tower both chuunin checked in with the guards and handed all of their weapons over. Now that nations were battling each other security had to be stepped up in order to avoid assassinations or security leaks. While Kakashi agreed with that logic he still found it annoying to hand over his family tanto every time.

* * *

><p><strong>Confrontment<strong>

As they entered the office what had caught the Hatake boys attention was the presence of his sensei and two other figures who stood next to him. He instinctively stood by his sensei and looked at the Hokage who was smoking on of his pipes. Why would he do such a thing Kakashi would never know. If anything sold Sarutobi should have been replaced by now and he knew it.

"Alright then. Now that all of you are currently present lets start the briefing. Your mission is to investigate a village that may contain supplies and weapons that Iwagakure have been using. If we were to capture and or destroy these resources it will benefit the Konoha and land a blow to Iwa" he said coughing a bit from the smoke.

"Where is the village located?" one of the two figures asked.

Kakashi managed to get a clear look at boy and he was somewhat surprised because the boy was about the same age as him. He had jet black hair with white streaks running through it. It was spiky and pointed downwards. He had gray eyes and he wore a black shirt with loose sleeves along with black shorts.

His companion was female and also had jet black hair and gray eyes. Her hair was short and she wore a white lined mesh shirt under a short sleeved jacket and black pants.

"The village is located north west here in Hi no kuni" He said causing Obito to stiffen, Kakashi to raise his eyebrows, while the others simply nodded as though already aware of that fact

"But then that means-" Obito began

"Yes, it means that there is foul play and our own may have betrayed us. Unfortunately Minato you cannot assist your students on this mission because I have something else in mind for you and because the hospital needs Rin I have decided to instead give you these two shinobi before you" Sarutobi said motioning for the two to come up.

"It is nice to meet you. My name is Reiko Hara and this is my cousin Seiichi Hara" the girl said bowing while the boy simply waved his hand.

"They are of a ninja clan that has recently taken residence in Konoha. They will be the ones helping you on this mission. Both are of chuunin level and I hope they will be powerful assets for you. The leader of this mission will be Kakashi Hatake." Sarutobi said.

Kakashi stepped in front and also bowed slightly."I hope that working with you will be a good experience".

"Likewise" the boy said holding out his hand

Kakashi shook it and couldn't help but size the boy up. He looked strong but appearances weren't always accurate so he couldn't really tell. He walked back towards his spot near Minato and turned his back towards the Hokage.

"Alright than lets continue. The objective of this mission is to investigate. Avoid contact at all costs and if you need to infiltrate the village be careful and try your best not to compromise the mission." Sarutobi said pausing. "After verifying if Iwa are keeping supplies there and if the people are willingly helping them then report back immediately to Konoha and we will respond accordingly. The mission begins 1200 hours tomorrow at the northern gates. You are dismissed" he finished.

"Yes lord hokage!" they all chorused.

Minato disappeared in a shunshin causing both Obito and Seiichi to mutter "I've gotta learn how to do that".They looked at each other curious and both ended up bursting out in laughter.

This made Kakashi sigh in annoyance while Reiko chuckled. Kakashi dragged Obito out of the office with both of the Hara's in tow.

"Well it looks like I was right in pairing them together." he said smiling. He looked at his desk and blanched slightly. When war time came so did paperwork season.

* * *

><p><strong>Daylight of Konoha<strong>

"So since we are going to work together we must know each others strength and weaknesses. Do you know somewhere we can speak Hatake-san" Reiko said talking to Kakashi while Obito and Seiichi joked around.

"Yes I do. Just follow me." He said stoically.

After a while of walking through the streets of konoha the four of them arrived at a cafe that reeked of herbs. After finding seats they all ordered green tea except for Kakashi.

"Now we already know each others names so lets discuss our strengths and weaknesses. To make it simple just state the fields you specialize in and the fields where you lack." Reiko stated looking at Obito expectantly.

"Uh I'm good at ninjutsu and my speed is nothing to sneeze at but my genjutsu isn't really good and my taijutsu is average." he said scratching his head a bit embarrassingly.

"I'm well skilled in terms of ninjutsu and taijutsu while my genjutsu is average. My speed has been compared to jounin level as of lately" Kakashi said matter of factually pissing off Obito a bit.

"Well just like our friend here I'm very skilled in ninjutsu and taijutsu but my genjutsu sucks. My speed is at chuunin level though" Seiichi said looking at Kakashi who wasn't even paying attention like it didn't matter. This of course angered Seiichi but he chose to say nothing about it.

Sensing the slight tension in the room Reiko cleared her throat catching everyone's attention." If you boys are done glaring at each other may we continue. My strengths are that I'm very skilled in genjutsu and my taijutsu is above average. My ninjutsu is average but I'm not very fast" she stated.

After that they didn't really talk much except for the exchange of whispers between Obito and Seiichi.

"Does he always act so high and mighty like that?"Seiichi said.

"Yeah he can be a real jackass too. Not only that bu-"Obito almost finished

"Can the both of you stop whispering. It's rude and we can clearly hear you" Reiko yelled kicking Seiichi under the table.

"Owwww. You know for a peaceful person you can be pretty damn violent!"Seiichi yelled back at her jumping out of his chair

"And for a gentlemen you can be a real jerk" she said as she got up and left."You better prepare for the mission tomorrow. I don't need you disappointing our clan like you always do!".

Seiichi seemed to get a pained look on his face as he watched her leave. He practically fell back on his chair and just stared at the ceiling.

"You too huh?" Obito asked as he laid his chin on the table.

"What do you mean?" Seiichi asked leaning on his chair.

"The clan thing of course" Obito said with a sad look in his eyes.

"Oh yeah your in the infamous Uchiha clan. You must have it worse than me than." Seiichi said sighing heavily. He got up from his seat leaving money on the table. "Sorry about earlier Kakashi I didn't mean anything." he said apologizing.

"Its fine." Kakashi replied.

Seiichi left intending to apologize to Reiko while Obito and Kakashi just sat there drinking their tea.

"You know Kakashi you don't have to have a stick up your ass every minute of the day you know."

Kakashi just looked at Obito weirdly and just shook his head disappointingly. He formed a hand sign and disappeared in a shroud of leaves leaving Obito alone.

"I've gotta learn how to do that" he said standing up. He began to go towards the compound and inform the elders of his mission tomorrow.

* * *

><p><strong>Sasuke's Theme<strong>

Kakashi Hatake was somewhat withdrawn. The loss of not knowing his mother because she died when he was a mere infant and the death of his father who committed suicide because he failed a critical mission made the boy into what he was now. In a house with no one to comfort him or encourage him. He didn't seek close relationships because of the pain they simply brought. It held even more true now during war.

As he sharpened his kunai he noticed a light tapping at his window so he looked at it and couldn't help but sigh in annoyance. "Come in" he said as his sensei managed to open his window from the outside and slip in.

"So how's my student?" Minato asked with a warm smile plastered on his face

Kakashi blinked at him skeptically and returned to sharpening his kunai. "I know your not here to check up on me so please state why your here" Kakashi said a serious edge to his voice.

Minato's face turned serious to Kakashi's question. "Its about your mission and who your doing it with. You may not know this yet but the Hara clan are formerly from Kumo".

Kakashi's eyes widened as he stopped what he was doing and turned his head towards his sensei.

"Although all the reasons Sarutobi stated is true there is one more reason why they were put on your team. Your true objective is to gauge how trust worthy they are. Kumo isn't known to let go of their clans peacefully and this has made us weary and suspicious of them."

"And how am I supposed to see how trust worthy they are. The two who were placed on my squad are children. I doubt they would know anything"

"Yes but what you don't know is that Seiichi is the heir to the Hara clan. Because of this there's a high chance he may know whats going on." Minato retorted.

_'That must explain her outburst earlier.' _Kakashi thought referring the boy's cousin. "Alright than I'll keep an eye on them but I may not find out anything important".

"That's all we're asking of you Hatake." Minato said as he leaped back through the window but before he continued he glanced back at his student and yelled "Oh and your being considered for a Jounin promotion so try not to fail this mission" and with that Minato left his student to handle these rush of events alone. Kakashi's face took on a pondering air as he thought about what his sensei had just told him.

The most he had hoped for was Tokubetsu Jounin but a regular jounin was all the more better. He was always gifted and he knew that someday he would be a great ninja but despite this mindset it still excited him. He still felt weird though. The fact that the ninja lands were in war may have influenced their position but who was he to reject such a thing.

He got up from his bed and walked towards his bathroom where he stared at himself through the mirror. From now on he would no longer be the son of the white fang but his own man. He promised the day his father died that he would never make the same mistake he did. He would succeed the mission no matter what the costs even if it meant his or his teammates death. As long as he completes the mission everything will turn out okay. Right?

Suppressing a yawn Kakashi walked back towards his room and dumped himself back on his bed. He needed to stop thinking so critically when he was tired.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: As the summary stated I've decided to write a fanfiction regarding the events that happened in the third shinobi war. Now since we know only few events some of the stuff in this story cannot be called canon. I plan on starting the kakaxrin pairing after obito's death of course. As for the two oc's introduced they might play an integral part of the story so bear with me. If there any criticisms you want to give me than please don't hold back but remember there's reviewing and then there's flaming**.


	2. Chapter 2

**_"Jutsu"_**

_Flashback_

* * *

><p><strong>Need To Be Strong<strong>

As Kakashi stared down Gari he heard weird crunching sounds coming from the ninja. Not wanting to make the fight longer than it had to be Kakashi drew his tanto but at that moment Gari chose to make his move.

The jounin threw out what looked like two clay birds which surprised Kakashi.

Kakashi quickly jumped off the tree he was on and watched it explode when the birds made contact with it. Landing on the branch of a different tree he flinched from the shards of wood that sprayed everywhere. He needed to get close to Gari if he was going to deal any damage at all.

Four more birds came flying at Kakashi again but Gari was nowhere in sight.

Thinking quickly Kakashi jumped away from the tree but instead of the birds hitting the tree and exploding they began following him making Kakashi's eyes narrow. He continuously dodged them by jumping from tree to tree or from branch to branch but they just kept coming! As a last resort he threw a swarm of kunai but although he managed to take 3 of them out one of them made it out and continued on towards him.

He jumped away from the branch he was on and crossed his arms in front him and focused chakra to them in order to lessen the damage he would take. When it hit the the heat from the explosion burned his arms and sent him flying towards the ground at a high speed. Not wanting to become a pancake he quickly recovered but instead of landing graciously he skidded across the ground.

Gari made his appearance by dropping from the trees above and charged towards Kakashi kunai drawn in both hands.

The young ninja quickly made hand signs as quickly as possible and after finishing them electricity crackled around his body. **_"Raiton: Ikazuchi no Utage"_** . He then slammed his hands onto the ground unleashing an electrical current that surged towards Gari and when it got close enough it split off into tendrils that attempted to attack Gari simultaneously.

The Iwa ninja jumped away from the tendrils and into the trees but they continuously chased after him.

Sooner or later they'll disappear but by that time Kakashi would of assessed the damage he had taken. He looked at his arms and if he wasn't a shinobi he would of lost his lunch at the site. The skin was a blood red and welts decorated it. Some of it was even blackened and if he hadn't focused chakra to the area at the moment of impact he could tell his arms would have been blown right off.

It was only the beginning of the battle and he was almost disabled. Sensing that his jutsu wore off he stood up and managed to take his fighting stance again

Gari seemed to melt from the ground behind Kakashi and lunged for the boy.

Kakashi acting on pure instinct jumped away at the last second avoiding the kunai that would've of been buried in his neck. He turned and faced Gari while doing handsign's. _**"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu"**. _He expelled a massive orb of fire from his mouth at the Iwa ninja.

Gari jumped into the air avoiding the fireball and then he unleashed a storm of kunai, all of them headed towards Kakashi.

Thinking fast he performed more hand signs and touched the ground with his hands. _**"Doton: Doryūheki**". _An earth wall shot up from the ground blocking all the kunai but something wasn't right. Noticing the hissing sound of paper bombs Kakashi quickly jumped away from the wall but although he avoided the fiery explosion the force of the blast sent him flying into the trunk of a tree.

Groaning painfully he collapsed on the branch below him and although It pained him to do so he lifted his head and watched the Iwa nin walk towards him from the other side of the tree.

"You are a very skilled shinobi. It's sad to see such skill die before it can blossom but you are a threat to Iwa and because of that you die.", Gari announced as he took out a kunai and approached Kakashi.

So this was how it was going to end. He wasn't even at full power. It was because of what that idiot had done. If he hadn't gotten injured earlier he may have been able to win. If only that idiot hadn't messes everything up. Now that he was about to die he thought about how they actually came up with a plan earlier.

* * *

><p><strong>Evening<strong>_  
><em>

_A day ago..._

_"Hey does anyone actually know what the village's name is?" Seiichi questioned the group as they jumped through the trees._

_"The village's name is Heiwana sōgen" Reiko answered him._

_"That name is a bit too peaceful for a traitorous village don't you think?" Seichi asked no one in particular._

_"Appearance's can be quite deceiving" Kakashi pointed out. "Don't just assume that because something looks innocent it doesn't mean its-."_

_"That's only one way to look at it though" Seiichi interrupted._

_"Then please tell us the 'other way' to look at it?" Kakashi replied._

_Seiichi furrowed his brow looking as though trying to find the answer which made Kakashi sigh in annoyance. If the boy was going to say something than he should back it up. Pointlessly throwing around words was no way to speak especially in front of him no less._

_Nightfall dawned on them before long and they had to set up camp. The group or rather himself had chosen a spot at least 3 miles away from the local river. The river was a good source of water and it lead close to Konoha._

_While Obito and Seiichi were gathering firewood he was going over the plan with Reiko._

_"Alright than so if the blueprints for this village are still correct there should be an underground passage beneath the village. Only question is why?" Reiko asked._

_"Well as it turns out the village was built on top of a mine. This was of course unknown until a boy actually got lost in it." he answered. There was actually a mission to find the boy which resulted in the actual discovery. "The village is one of many places Konoha get's its raw material to make weapons from."_

_"Alright so what do you think the chances of us using it as a way to sneak in?" Obito chimed in._

_"It all depends on whether or not Iwa is using the mine which they most likely are. They've most likely mapped out the entire thing already so no hope there" Kakashi said._

_Seiichi came over dumping the firewood in a corner, "So why don't we try to blend in with disguises?"._

_"Because they must be aware of everyone who lives there." Reiko argued._

_"Then lets go as traders. If their using it as a way to steal supplies and such they should be accepting traders right?" Seiichi retorted_

_"But that leaves a large chance of error. We would be walking into a hornets nest and that's clearly out of the question. If we masquerade as traders it'll make it harder to gain information" Kakashi replied._

_"Alright so whats your idea 'white fang'?" Seiichi said mockingly._

_Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the boy but chose to let it go. He was going to be the mature one. "We have to sneak in directly and discreetly. All we have to do is verify if Iwa are in control of the village and we have to make certain the people aren't helping them willingly. I know that its risky but it might just be the best option."_

_Reiko put her finger to her lips deep in thought. "If you guys can stop criticizing each other for just a moment I could think of something. It's possible to implement all of your plans but we have to be careful with what we do. If anything this doesn't even sound like a chuunin level mission."_

_Kakashi couldn't help but agree with the girl. While he could say his skills were on par with some jounin this mission seemed a bit too dangerous for them and seeing as how he was leader he would be held responsible if they failed._

_"Hey just because the mission looks difficult that doesn't mean we can't complete it." Obito said proudly._

_"She wasn't saying that we couldn't complete it. Shes saying that its weird they assigned something like this to us. My specialty is combat and I'm sure the Sandaime was at least aware of that fact". Seiichi said defending his cousin._

_This made Kakashi question the mission even more. It was rare for a ninja to be assigned a mission they weren't trained for and even if Konoha's force was spread thin the Sandaime wouldn't send his own ninja to their death. "Look it doesn't matter if we don't like this mission. We still need to complete so lets try to come up with something to get in".  
><em>

* * *

><p><strong>Bad Situation<strong>

Present...

Kakashi's heartbeat felt erratic yet everything seemed to slow down. He couldn't believe this was the end. If he was going to survive he needed a miracle. As Gari prepared to end Kakashi's life the young boy shut his eyes awaiting for the cold embrace of death to overtake him and yet it never came.

"If your gonna keep your eyes closed than get off the battlefield" a familiar voice stated.

After slowly opening his eyes a surprised look dawned in his face at who is apparent miracle was. It was Seiichi and from his outstretched leg it seems as though he managed to kick Gari away before his attack connected.

Overcoming his initial surprise his face took on a dark appearance as his earlier anger revived itself. "I wouldn't need to close my eyes if you hadn't screwed everything up!" he said threateningly. He stood up with his legs shaking like leaves and before he inevitably fell down someone caught him.

"Come on Kakashi we gotta leave" Reiko said lifting the boy back onto his legs. "We have to go back to the village.".

"But what about Seiichi?" Kakashi asked.

"That idiot can take care of himself." she answered. The girl hoisted the young ninja onto her back and took off through the trees.

"And Obito"

"Don't worry hes at the rendezvous"

Kakashi could only look back towards where they left Seiichi. He wondered if what the boy said back at the village was true or not. Could he beat Gari? As his arms began to feel numb Kakashi thought about mission, or more specifically Heiwana sōgen. He thought about what Seiichi did and if it was the right course of action at the time.

Was the mission worth failing just to protect one person?

Should he of followed the boys example?

No. There was no way he was the wrong one. The mission was always first priority no matter the costs and because of Seiichi's actions they may have doomed the little village and its inhabitants to an early grave and that was Kakashi's last thoughts before his exhaustion finally caught up to him. His eyes slowly closed as he welcomed the peaceful embrace of sleep.

* * *

><p><strong>Strong And Strike<strong>

Seiichi hated situations like this. There was no back-up, he was up against a highly skilled Iwa jounin, and he may have screwed everything up. Sighing heavily he looked at his opponent and couldn't help but cringe. No wonder Kakashi was so beat up. He was against Gari of all people. Though maybe he wouldn't of gotten so beat up if he wasn't injured before the fight which was his fault.

Analyzing the opponent first he decided to come up with a plan of action. Since Gari was a known demolition expert his fighting style would most likely be mid to long range so he needed to get up close and personal. Seiichi charged Gari from across the branch throwing a left straight towards the man's face.

Gari deflected the punch and countered with a wide sweep kick.

Seiichi jumped avoiding attack and came back down with an ax kick aimed at the mans head but he missed when the Iwa jounin managed to throw himself backwards avoiding the attack. So this guy was also skilled in taijutsu. That just made the fight more fun.

Okay so it was time to pick up the pace. His irises became slits and his nails grew longer and sharper signifying the use of his kekkai genkai. _**"Howaitotaigā no henkan: Stage one"**. _He disappeared appearing behind the jounin and thrust his claws at the mans back.

Although he was surprised at the sudden burst of speed the jounin jumped off the branch avoiding the hit but he was now in mid-air and there were no branches to land on.

Now that he had the Iwa jounin where he wanted him Seiichi jumped down after the man. He fished a scroll, unraveled it, and focused chakra into it calling forth his guan dao. Seeing the ground up ahead he quickly swung weapon.

In a futile attempt of prolonging his death Gari blocked the attack with his kunai but the force of the floor slammed him into the hard forest floor.

Landing a couple of paces away Seiichi looked at the crater with a smile on his face. For some famous jounin the guy was one hell of a pushover. He walked towards the crater prepared to see the corpse of his opponent but instead was greeted with the site of a pile of logs. After a medley of curses he focused on the area around him and used his heightened sense to locate his opponent.

From the direction his scent was coming from Gari was headed towards the border of Kusagakure which meant he didn't go after Reiko or Kakashi. Taking a deep breathe his kekkai genkai wore off leaving him breathing heavily.

It looked like he would have to catch up with the others in order to figure out what they were going to do about the mission and whether or not they should go back to Konoha. Taking on last look at the pile of logs the propelled himself through the trees and raced towards the teams rendezvous point.

* * *

><p><em><strong>Jutsu used this Chapter:<strong>_

**_Raiton: Ikazuchi no Utage(Lightning Release: Lightning Burial ~ Banquet of Lightning)_**:he user brings their hands together and an electrical energy will begin to crackle around them. They will then slam their hands to the ground to send an electric current racing through the earth. When the current approaches its target, it can split into multiple tendrils to attack separate targets individually.

_**Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu****(****Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)**_:A technique where chakra kneaded inside the body is converted into fire, and expelled from the mouth in a massive orb of roaring flame or as a continuous flamethrower.

_**Doton: Doryūheki(Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall):**_The user creates a solid wall of earth as a form of defence. Chakra is either converted to earth within the body and then spat out to form the wall or the user can manipulate pre-existing earth to form the wall. The earth then instantly rises up and takes form. The barrier itself is also coated with chakra, making its strength incomparable to that of a normal mud wall

_**_**Howaitotaigā no henkan: Stage one**_(White Tiger Transformation:Stage**_** One):** A kekkai genkai belonging to the Hara clan .By focusing chakra throughout their entire body the user gains the animal characteristics of a feline or more specifically. Because this is only stage one the user is only granted claws, heightened senses, and small boost to their present abilities.

**A/N: Anyway sorry for not updating for such a long time. School just started back up for me so I've been trying to fix my internal clock. Find out what Seiichi exactly did to jeopardize the mission and how will Obito and Reiko react. Can Kakashi forgive Seiichi for his blunder? Next chap will be out next Sunday or sooner. Please Read & Review. It helps my writing more than you think.  
><strong>


	3. Chapter 3

_Flashback_

**Insert Naruto OST Song Here - Self explanatory ain't it?**

* * *

><p><strong>Evening<strong>

Kakashi slowly opened his eyes only to be greeted by the green leaves that blew blissfully in the wind above. He rubbed his eyes and propped himself up on his arm; looking around he saw that everyone else was still asleep save for one boy with orange goggles who was up in the trees scanning the area. Looking at his arms Kakashi noticed that they were wrapped up in bandages and they didn't burn. He moved his fingers and bent his elbow, feeling only tiny stings but other than that he felt okay.

"Kakashi?" a voice rang through the young boy's head.

He looked at the direction the voice came from and he saw that Obito had finally noticed that he was awake.

Jumping down from the tree above, the young Uchiha decided it to be a good idea to hug the Hatake boy.

Kakashi's eyes narrowed dangerously and Obito, realizing his mistake, attempted to back away, but alas he was slammed down onto the ground before he could even move.

"Remember that deal we had where you didn't touch me and I didn't bother you?" Kakashi questioned the young boy.

"Yes I remember," Obito groaned. After standing up the Uchiha dusted himself off and gave Kakashi an annoyed look. "It's kinda rude to slam down someone who was just happy to see you were awake."

"I never asked you to be happy that I was awake." Kakashi decided to go over the contents in his bag so he sat down and laid everything out. He counted his remaining kunai, shuriken, and wire. "There's nothing to be happy about. We failed the mission and that village is practically a burning heap by now, courtesy of our little friend sleeping over there," he said, pointing towards Seiichi.

The boy had his back propped up against the hard bark of the tree with a kunai tightly grasped his hand. Well at least the boy was careful, even in his sleep.

"Oh yeah about the mission. What the hell happened?" Obito asked with a curious look on his face.

Kakashi looked at the boy and sighed. Listening to their surrounding there was nobody around. "Alright than if you need to know this is what happened."

* * *

><p><em>Flashback<em>

_Kakashi kept vigilant as both he and Seiichi traveled through the mines of Heiwana sōgen, watching as the villagers worked with chained arms and legs. Deprived of their freedom they worked with grime filled faces, it was obvious they were being forced. Those on top were being blackmailed with the lives of its members below. Husbands, sons, wives it didn't matter who they were; they were all shoved into the tight tunnels and forced to work._

_This sickened him but he wasn't completely sympathetic. Didn't these people know that there was war going on. They were supplying the enemy and even if it was unwillingly it was still unacceptable to the young boy._

_Both he and Seiichi were garbed in standard Iwa chuunin uniforms they had stolen from a pair of guards they ambushed earlier. Thanks to their timing and a perfectly executed genjutsu from Reiko, they were in. Obito was on standby ready to jump in if there was an emergency but everything was going smoothly. All they had to do was escape the underground mines unnoticed and report back._

_As far as Kakashi was concerned it was a successful mission. Walking through the tunnels, despite Kakashi's hardened mind from training as a shinobi he couldn't bring himself to look at the people again. How long had this been going on? From the looks of it these villagers must have been down here for days or weeks maybe, and Konoha only found out about a few days ago. It just didn't seem right at all._

_Taking in a deep breath he looked towards Seiichi, but the boy didn't seem fazed by the display. His face was completely neutral and if Kakashi didn't know better he might have thought that the boy didn't care about villagers._

_Luckily for them they hadn't run many Iwa shinobi and the ones that did pass by didn't bother checking them. Alright, that was it they were getting out of there now. Everything was weird and he had a bad feeling in his gut._

_From Kakashi's mental picture of the map in his head they were approaching the exit soon . Of course with his luck, the unexpected happened . A young girl no older than 14 collapsed on the ground from sheer exhaustion, but she was soon hauled back up by a nearby Iwa shinobi. From the looks of him he seemed like a high ranking chuunin. The Iwa shinobi grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and seemed to spit in her face as he spoke._

"_How dare you laze around. We have a quota to make and yet you're trying to relax. Maybe you need to be taught a lesson. An example to all of you Leaf bastards!" he shouted the last part. "You! Come here and take this kunai. I want you to kill this girl in front of all these lazy workers. That ought a give them a little incentive to keep working!" the man said pointing the drawn kunai at Seiichi._

_Time seemed to freeze as the man pointed the kunai at Seiichi expecting him to outright take it and kill the girl. Seiichi's hands shook and shockingly enough the hardened shinobi didn't notice. When Seiichi didn't look like he was going to move the man shouted at him to hurry._

"_Hurry up. We have no time for dramatics!"_

_His movements seemed normal but to Kakashi they looked as rigid as stone. The boy walked towards the Iwa shinobi and took the kunai that was handed him. He looked at the girl and his breathing seemed to quicken with each second. 'Seiichi come on. Kill the girl and let's go,' Kakashi thought. While he was against killing the villagers he had to take the mission into account. If Seiichi didn't kill that girl right now they would be exposed and the mission will be compromised. Kakashi watched coldly as Seiichi raised the weapon but where he aimed it almost made Kakashi wish he had brought Reiko along instead._

_Instead of killing the girl the boy had instead stabbed the man who gave the order in the chest. The kunai seemed to slide right through the man's armored vest into his chest as it made a sickening sound of blade sliding through flesh. Clearly surprised by the turn of events the man could only watch as the kunai went as deep as the hilt before Seiichi let go of it making the man stagger backwards._

_He backed to the wall where a pickaxe was soon buried in his head splattering blood everywhere. A rogue prisoner had seen the clear opportunity and before they knew it all of the trapped villagers began rioting._

_Luckily for them the villagers focused their attention on the other guards leaving them an avenue for escape. Kakashi and Seiichi took of through the tunnels killing any guards that came across their paths simply not caring that they were exposed. When they finally made it to the entrance which was in the forest Kakashi quickly scanned the area, noticing that ninja were already getting into positions._

_Seiichi didn't notice it but to Kakashi it was as clear as day. Explosive tags lined the entrance of the cave and before long they were ignited. Kakashi, thinking quick on his feet, tackled the boy away from the cave, shielding Seiichi as the caves' entrance exploded with Kakashi taking the brunt of the damage._

_With dust everywhere they were unseen and seeing the opportunity Kakashi gave orders to the boy still on the ground. "Get out here and make sure not to lead them to Rin or Obito. Shake them off and meet back at the rendezvous," he spoke loud enough since only Seiichi was here. Popping a soldier pill into his mouth he managed to ignore the intense pain his body was in, so he propelled himself into the trees hoping the boy had followed his orders._

_Flashback end_

* * *

><p><strong>Confrontment<strong>

Kakashi finished explaining what happened. He omitted his main thoughts from the story because Obito had a different outlook on things and because he didn't feel inclined on fighting the boy with the injuries he had.

"I guess it couldn't be helped right? Killing the girl would have been the wrong thing to do so I guess I can forgive him," Obito said with a soft smile on his face.

"Well I sure as hell won't!" shouted a feminine voice.

The two boys turned their heads and looked at the now fully awake Reiko. Kakashi guessed she was either awake the whole time or she woke up in the middle of the story.

"I can't believe he sacrificed the mission over one life," she said angrily.

Kakashi of course agreed with the girl but her outburst didn't sit well with Obito seeing as the boy bounced up.

"You're telling me it would have been fine if he had just killed her?"

"Of course! He had no right to compromise the mission!" she yelled back. Her eyes drifted towards her cousin who was somehow still sleeping throughout the argument. "That idiot's been nothing but trouble for me."

Choosing this as the right time to intervene Kakashi spoke up. "I know how you feel Reiko and I agree but try not to let personal issues cloud your judgment." He managed to defuse the situation entirely somehow because Reiko went quiet and so did Obito who for some reason was looking at Kakashi warily. Deciding that the boy was being weird Kakashi chose to ignore it.

"So if you guys are finished arguing can I cut in?" a strange voice alerted them all.

Kakashi instantly went on alert, but before he could anything chains shot from the ground and tied him down, preventing him from moving.

Looking around he saw that everyone else was immobilized including Seiichi who was still sleeping. What? A figure dropped from the trees above and landed in the middle of the group. She had long red hair that looked extremely familiar to the young boy.

"K- K-" Obito stuttered.

"Kushina-san," Kakashi finished.

The young woman smiled playfully at the two boys. "I thought we agreed that you would call me senpai Kakashi."

"I don't see you as a superior. Why are you here?" he asked with a stoic look on his face.

"Well we came here along with a team from Konoha to assist you on the mission; however you guys seemed to mess things up, so we had to clean up everything." Kushina replied still retaining that playful look on her face.

"Hn," Kakashi let out.

A second ninja came from above and Kakashi recognized her as a genjutsu specialist Kurenai Yuhi. "Kushina-sama, are we ready to go now?" she asked. She looked exhausted for some reason.

"After that boy stops pointing weapons at me," she said a serious look dawning on her face. The chains on Kakashi disappeared along with the others. A poof sound drew his attention to where Seiichi was and he couldn't help but smirk. The boy was pretending, which meant he most likely heard the earlier conversation.

The real Seiichi appeared in front of Kushina, his hands filled with kunai. "Sorry. I didn't know if you were an enemy or not." He placed his weapons back into his pouch and apologized again.

Reiko had a surprised look on her face, most likely from her cousin's little show of skill, but she recovered.

"Before you guys ask any questions we gotta head back to Konoha. Minato is actually in the village for once and I'm not gonna let him escape this time," she said dashing into the bushes, Kurenai falling in line behind her.

Now that he was recovered, Kakashi trailed after them while the others followed.

**Survival Examination**

After what seemed to be a few hours, Kakashi snuck a glance at the cousins and noted that they were keeping a safe distance from each other. Obito was still looking at Kakashi warily but again Kakashi chose to ignore it, not wanting to deal with the now that were almost home.

Everything that happened today flashed through his head as he attempted to sort through it all and come up with an answer. He went over the list in his head. A difficult mission was assigned to chuunins, everything was going smoothly until it went downhill, Gari, Kushina showed up claiming she finished everything, and now they were going to Konoha like everything was dandy. No something was obviously up and before long Kakashi drew together a theory.

Everything up until Gari was a genjutsu via Kurenai. The village sent the team as a test. Who they were testing exactly was blurry. It could have been a test to see whether or not he was ready to be promoted to Jounin, a test from the Uchiha clan for Obito, or it was to see if Seiichi and the Hara clan could be trusted.

He studied Kushina who still had that joyful look on her face. Although he was good at acting emotionless, she was good at acting...emotional. Now that he had everything figured out, all that was left was to get to the village and get answers.

When they finally made it to the village the sun had already dawned and they were all winded, especially Kurenai who Seiichi ended up carrying. Kakashi guessed that having to make such a convincing genjutsu and running all the way to the village was tiring.

"All of you should probably get some sleep. I want all of you at the Hokage's office 6:00 am sharp for your report." she announced. She used a shunshin and left the group with an awkward silence.

Luckily, no one felt obliged to talk so they all went separate ways, except for Seiichi and Reiko who were still keeping a safe distance from each other. He already did his part back in the forest so there was nothing else for him to do.

In all honesty he kind of wished someone was there with him when he was walking home. He may prefer to be alone but sometimes it was good to know that someone you know is with you. When he made it inside his comfy room he locked his windows which he forgot to do before leaving. Great, that meant someone might have sneaked in to his room. Not wanting to deal with anything else he plopped himself in his bed and before long sleep overtook him.

Kakashi stood still in front of the Hokage's desk along with the others including Kurenai and Kushina. Everyone managed to make it on time including Obito. Kakashi looked around and noted that Minato wasn't there and he didn't know if that was good or not.

"Well than now that you're all here I'd like to hear your report," the old man voiced.

Kakashi stepped in front of everybody and prepared to relay everything that happened on the mission to the Hokage.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Yeah sorry for not updating in a long time. I had finals last week and I had to go to a debate tournament so my schedule was pretty jammed at the time. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'd like to thank my new beta, Soraya the All Speaker, for betaing my story. Read and Review.**


	4. Chapter 4

****Insert Naruto OST Song Here - Self explanatory ain't it?****

* * *

><p><strong>Nervous<strong>

"And that concludes my report," Kakashi finished. Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Kushina and Kurenai didn't seem fazed by the events of the mission. In fact, the only time they showed any reaction to the news was when he mentioned Gari.

"I see," the Third Hokage said, taking a light puff from his pipe. He took a long pause seemingly deep in thought before he decided to say more. "That must been difficult for you Kakashi. Not many fight Gari and survive, especially those who fought him while injured. You may owe your life to Seiichi. If he hadn't intervened we never would have had this conversation."

It was at that moment that Kakashi felt grateful. Yes he felt grateful that he wore a mask because he was gritting his teeth. The fact that he owed his life to that boy made his blood boil.

Kakashi took a deep breath and attempted to suppress all of his emotions but he couldn't. Something wasn't right, the more he tried the angrier he felt and the harder it was for him to keep from going berserk. Was he under a genjutsu? But Kurenai couldn't have been able to because someone would have noticed. There was someone else in this room and chances are the Hokage knew they were there and he most likely put that person up to it. His blooded pounded in his ears and he could practically feel the adrenaline flow through his veins. If he didn't stop it he would go into some frenzy.

"Are you okay Kakashi? You don't look so well," Hiruzen questioned. The old man's face darkened, his voice taking on a dark and heavy tone, or at least that was how it sounded to Kakashi.

They were doing all of this as some sort of damn test. The only good part was that the theory he made yesterday was right, or it was partially true. If he flared his chakra to cancel the genjutsu while he was in the Hokage's office, that would alert the Anbu and they may see him as some threat, and the Hokage would see it as insubordination. What he needed was a distraction or something to throw off the genjutsu caster. A jutsu like this would require a lot of concentration and if he located the caster he could have a chance, but there too many things in the office and his mind was already going blank.

"Lord Hokage, I have a question regarding where Gari was headed," a stray voice called out.

Without even having to turn around he knew the voice came from Obito. He's spent enough time with his teammate to know the boy's attitude, personality, or how he reacted to certain situations. Thankfully, the question actually managed to draw the attention of whoever casted the genjutsu, opening a window of opportunity.

"Release," he barely whispered, spiking his chakra high enough to break the jutsu. Luckily since the genjutsu was weakened, he didn't to spike his chakra too high so nobody noticed. His heart beat became calm and he managed to put on his stoic facade.

"On our way here Seiichi told me that Gari retreated to the borders of Takigakure instead of heading back to Heiwana Sogen. Why would he do that if a village they captured was attacked?" Obito asked.

"Our spies have told us that's where Iwa's main army is located," Hiruzen answered. "Thank you for alerting me of where he went Obito. Now the only question I have, is when you were going to alert me of this Hara?"

"I was planning on telling you after-"

"You told your father correct?" Sarutobi interrupted

"No Lord Hokage, I was going to tell you after Kakashi was finished," Seiichi murmured.

"He finished his report 10 minutes ago. Either you're lying to me or it slipped your mind. Which one was it boy?"

_'The old man's target just switched," _Kakashi thought. He had barely lasted a couple of minutes so there was no way Seiichi could last a couple of seconds. Unfortunately he was right.

" I-it must have slipped m-my mind," he stuttered frantically.

Seiichi's right arm began to tremble violently making him grab in order to steady it. His breathing became hitched and his eyes turned into cat like slits.

Being the careful one Kakashi readied himself to stop the boy. The damned caster wouldn't be taken off guard agin and there was no way Kakashi would find him in time. Worst case scenario was that Seiichi would actually manage to kill someone. The others slowly backed away from Seiichi as the boy collapsed on his knees and his hitched breathing turned into a low growl.

Just when it seemed that Seiichi would actually do something the boy collapsed on the floor unconscious. Kakashi raised his eyebrows and even the Hokage was surprised at the sudden turn of events.

Kakashi, on instinct, checked the boy's pulse in case he somehow died. He searched for anything and luckily he felt it. "Don't worry he's alive."

Despite the good news the mood in the room didn't lighten up. Instead it got darker and the air felt even heavier.

Reiko quickly ran to her unconscious cousin and hoisted him up. "I'll bring him to the hospital. Sorry Hokage-sama," she bowed slightly.

"I suggest you hurry. Everyone else is dismissed, including you Kushina."

The redhead simply shrugged and left the office but not without shooting a glare at the Hokage's desk. Kurenai quickly followed along with Reiko.

Kakashi looked right into the Hokage's eyes and they maintained that position for what seemed like hours until Obito dragged Kakashi out of the office with him. Looks like he was gonna have to remind the boy why he shouldn't randomly touch people.

* * *

><p>The Sandaime sighed in relief the moment Kakashi and everyone else finally left. He was getting too old for this. Kakashi's chance run-in with Gari was worrisome. He should make plans to have the Anbu investigate the breach in their defense and locate any other Iwa ninja who may have infiltrated the Land of Fire.<p>

Another thing that worried him was Seiichi's untimely collapse. The genjutsu had a deeper effect on the boy than they thought. Maybe it had something to do with his clan's kekkei genkai. This meant another meeting with the boy's father.

Speaking of parents there was still his last problem. Kakashi Hatake, son of Sakumo Hatake, and Izumi Hatake who were both currently deceased. Although he disliked tormenting his own shinobi, it was necessary evil. There had been many deaths of Jounin who simply weren't ready and it heartbreaking. Kakashi met all requirements for a promotion but there was still one thing holding him back.

The only thing preventing the boy from being promoted was his current mind-set. He may be a genius, but with the death of his father and no one to comfort him the boy changed. They couldn't determine his state of mind and whether or not he was ready to handle the pressures of being a jounin. The Sandaime took a light puff from his pipe, "The boy is trying too hard. Don't you think so as well, Minato?"

A lone toad statue on couch in the Hokage's office poofed into white smoke revealing a slightly panting Minato. "We both know why. He's either trying to follow his father's footsteps, or trying to escape the man's shadow. If we don't tread carefully we may accidentally break the boy, or turn him into something unrecognizable."

The Sandaime took a long hard look at Minato, and smile spread across his face. "You'll make a fine Yondaime someday, Minato. You've already signed the boy up for that mission I presume?"

"Yes of course," Minato answered. "I always thought that you would choose Oronchimaru as your successor?"

Hiruzen's smile disappeared and was replaced with a pained face. "Although I hoped to give him this position, I've noticed certain...traits of his that aren't suited for a Kage. Jiraiya was my second choice, but-"

"His constant journeys and his information network?"

Hiruzen sighed disappointingly, "And his habits." Hiruzen couldn't even count the number of times he had caught his student peeping at the springs. It always ended with the boy being chased and beat down. Sometimes Tsunade found out and she would use that monster strength of hers to...

Minato's eyebrows rose when Hiruzen was smiling as though in some day dream. Not wanting to interrupt his friend's happy moment Minato slowly slipped out of the room choosing to speak with the Sandaime another time.

* * *

><p><strong>Evening<strong>

Kakashi dusted himself off and straightened his mask, which was disheveled from when Obito dragged him out of the office. The goggle wearing boy was flat on the ground groaning pain from Kakashi's little "lesson" in personal space. "I hope this doesn't become a usual thing Obito. I have no time to deal with your gags," Kakashi stated stoically, looking down at the boy.

"Of course not Kakashi, I wouldn't dream of it," Obito replied casually. Secretly he was going to try and do that every once in a while to wear the boy's ice-like nature.

"It shouldn't even cross your mind," Kakashi sighed. He frowned realizing that he wasn't able to question the Sandaime. He knew his place, but the actions that were taken against him during the briefing actually frightened the boy and made him paranoid. He would have to watch his back more often. Who knew what the Sandaime had in store for him and that meant being prepared for anything at any time.

He began walking towards the hospital and before long Obito started following him. Kakashi paid close attention to his surroundings, including the people around him. No one looked suspicious but any ninja could have been using a henge.

A shadow appeared in the corner of his vision and his eyes immediately focused on that spot. Nothing was there and it made his eyes narrow. It may have just been his paranoia or a trick of the light but it still made him feel even easier.

He continued forward and luckily the hospital came into view. Just a couple of more steps and he would be safe. He relaxed his breathing and went back into his old stoic self; it made him feel even safer. Maybe the Sandaime didn't send anyone after him and he was just overreacting about everything. Well that was his chain of thought until he felt a strong grip on his shoulder which made him instantly go in to battle mode. He pulled out a kunai and set it near his target's throat, but when he made eye contact with the one who grabbed him he instantly put the knife away.

"It's good to see that even when he's off the battlefield my pupil is still alert. How have you been Kakashi?" Minato asked with that damned smile of his.

* * *

><p><strong>Confrontment<strong>

Seiichi's eyes flickered open as he regained consciousness. A sharp sting in his arm told him he was in the hospital so the only question he had left was who was with him. Looking around he saw a sight made him smile. It was his mother who sat right next to him holding his cold hand in her warm one.

The young woman smiled warmly at her son. "It's good to see that you're finally awake Seiichi." Unlike the other members of the Hara clan she had light auburn hair, styled into a small ponytail with bangs on the left side of her face. Her eyes were the color of amber and she wore a black cheongsam that was decorated with white dragons that circled each other.

"Nice to see you too mom," he said smiling. If there was anyone in his family that he actually liked it was his own mother. She was kind to him and merciful unlike the rest of the bastards...except maybe Reiko; at least he knew her rage was most likely her pms-ing, but still. Before he said anything else he caught whiff of a ond scent and his eyes narrowed dangerously. "Who else is here?" he said losing any positive emotion he had.

The woman's face turned downtrodden as she looked away from her son in guilt. "I asked him to stay but he persi-"

"I have a right to visit him don't I?"

A man walked into the room and mood instantly darkened. The man had a stern face with a wide scar going cross one eye. He had the same jet black hair with white stripes like Seiichi but instead of being spiky his was straight and it reached his waist. The man wore a black kimono with white trims and he had Yin Yang emblazoned on the back of it. The most shocking feature of this man though was his missing left arm.

"How's my refined first son?" the man asked as if they talked normally.

"Don't call me that Katsuro," Seiichi spat back.

"That's no way to speak to your father," Katsuro replied calmly. "Now I want you to tell me what happened exactly on your mission and what was that little episode in the Sandaime's office?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: All I could probably say is that I'm pretty damn late in uploading this chapter so sorry for those who are fans of this story. I'll try to have the next one out sooner but high school is an unpredictable thing. Especially when you join the...Debate team.**

**What does Minato have to say to Kakashi, What mission did he ****sign Kakashi up for, and what exactly happened to Seiichi in the Sandaime's office? Find the answer in the next chapter.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Insert Naruto OST Song Here - Self explanatory ain't it?**

_'xxxxxxxx'-thoughts_

**XXXXXX -Jutsu**

* * *

><p><strong>Afternoon Of Konoha<strong>

"It's good to see that even when he's off the battlefield my pupil is still alert. How have you been Kakashi?" Minato asked with that cursed smile of his.

"I've been better," Kakashi replied. Now that he thought about it the only shinobi who could have cast the genjutsu in the office was his own sensei Minato. That meant he would have to keep his eyes on one of the most gifted ninja in Konoha. _'Great' _he thought sarcastically.

Minato nodded in acknowledgment and then turned to his other student, "I see. Obito have you seen Rin? I've been looking for her."

Obito blushed lightly, "I haven't seen her since we came back. I was planning on visiting her after we saw what was up with Seiichi."

Kakashi couldn't figure out why Obito would always get so goofy when Rin was mentioned. Maybe if he asked the boy one of these days he would find out. For now he just wanted to see what happened exactly to Seiichi; his curiosity would not settle down until he found out.

Kakashi turned around and started to walk back towards the building behind him. "If you'd excuse me I'm going inside the hospital."

"But what about Rin! This is the first time all of us have been in the village and we're not busy!" Obito shouted.

"Rin can wait. And I am busy," Kakashi replied. He was going to get answers, one way or another.

* * *

><p><strong>Nervous<strong>

"That's no way to speak to your father," Katsuro replied calmly. "Now I want you to tell me what happened on your mission."

"I don't know how any of that is your business," Seiichi spat back.

"Don't be a fool Seiichi. The sooner you tell me, the sooner I leave," Katsuro proposed.

Seiichi simply gave the man a 'zipped lip' gesture making Katsuro sigh in annoyance.

"If you won't tell me what happened on the mission than at least tell me about your episode earlier."

"I simply did what you would call a 'procedure'," Seiichi sneered.

A smirk grew on Katsuro's lips when he heard that. "I don't need you hurting innocent bystanders, now do I. You used the **_Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu_** I assume?"

"Of course I used it and even if I didn't I'm pretty sure the high leveled ninja around would of stopped me."

"You'd call Reiko a high leveled ninja?" Katsuro said, surprised at his son's appraisal of the girl.

"On her...best days," Seiichi replied weakly.

Katsuro chuckled. "You keep telling yourself that. Now that we've had our weekly father and son chat, I have some good news. I've volunteered you for a mission to Kumogakure."

Seiichi was about to make a smart ass remark but froze when he realized what his dad said. "You signed me up for a mission without asking me?" he yelled. He would have jumped at the man from his hospital bed if his mom wasn't busy holding him down.

"My duty as leader of this clan dictates that I must make certain...decisions that benefit the clan. You'll be accompanying Minato Namikaze on this mission as a way to show the Hokage's dog that you're at least competent." Katsuro walked to the door but not without turning his head and adding a couple more words. "Remember, if you look bad so does the clan. As heir I expect you to perform past my expectations. Prove to me that you're my son." With that Katsuro simply left Seiichi alone with his mother.

Seiichi's eyes never left the door and he could still feel the hatred he had for that man burning inside him.

"Please calm down Seiichi. I know that you and your father don't get along but please, he means well," she said in that same soothing voice.

As angry Seiichi was he had to at least heed his mother's words. "He's always pushing me only to tell me I'm not good enough. How does that mean well mother?" he asked.

"I'm sure he has his reasons. Please be patient Seiichi. I'm sure it will make sense one day," she said pulling him into a warm hug.

"I hope so mom. I hope so," he said, relaxing as she hugged him. All the while he didn't notice that someone had been watching after Katsuro left.

* * *

><p><strong>Loneliness <strong>

Kakashi, for once in his life, didn't know how to feel as he watched Seiichi hug his mother. Was he angry, confused, or hurt? So many emotions ran through his head but only one stood above the rest. Jealousy.

_'Dammit I shouldn't care for something so insignificant'_ he thought to himself. He had no need for relationships. A good ninja was emotionally detached no matter the situation; he shouldn't even be feeling anything. His father cared and became a failure, but he won't.

As Kakashi slowly backed away he was stopped abruptly by something behind him.

"Kakashi?" a light voice called out.

He turned around slowly and couldn't help but cringe.

"I thought you were going go search for Rin?" Kakashi asked keeping his voice steady.

"This is just a shadow clone. I need to speak with Seiichi regarding something important," the clone stated.

Kakashi just nodded and walked past the clone. What did Minato have to do with Seiichi? Kakashi didn't know but it gave him a foreboding feeling as though it involved him somehow or it will involve him. Hopefully not. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get the image of Seiichi hugging his mother out of his head.

It was grating his nerves, and he didn't know why. It was nothing but an insignificant gesture, so why was Kakashi so bothered by it? Maybe he just felt stir crazy about when his next mission will assigned to him.

The moment he made it out of the hospital he sped away from the building as fast as he could. He needed to get as far away from there as possible and there was only one place where he knew he would be alone.

* * *

><p><strong>Afternoon Of Konoha<strong>

As Minato watched his student walk away, he could easily tell that the boy was shaken up by something that most likely happened in the room. He took a peek and couldn't help but grimace. It looked like Kakashi was spooked by Seiichi hugging his still alive and caring mother. It must have dealt a blow to the boy's psyche. The worst part was that the both of them were going to have to work together the next mission.

Not wanting to waste any more time, Minato stepped into the room and cleared his throat in order to catch their attention.

Both of them separated from each other abruptly with Seiichi blushing a bit that Minato had seen them.

"I've come to meet one of the shinobi who will be accompanying me to Kumo. My name is-"

"I know who you are Yellow Flash," Seiichi cut him off. "I'm going to make a quick guess and say that this is about the mission my father signed me up for."

Minato crossed his arms and sighed. "So he got here first huh? Well since we'll be working together I came to check up on you and see whether or not you're fit to go on the mission."

"Well as you can see there's nothing physically wrong with me," Seiichi said, emphasizing his point by jumping from his bed and performing a few other feats.

"Physically yes, mentally no."

"Tch, you don't know what goes on in my head," Seiichi spat back.

Minato closed his eyes in thought. It looked like he was dealing with a hothead. "Which is exactly why. We **don't **know what goes in your head and since you're not full citizens of Konoha we can't exactly hand you over to the Yamanaka, So tell me, is there anything?" Minato opened back his eyes and gave the boy a piercing glare.

Seiichi took a wary step back and tripped back on his bed.

Not before long his mother stepped in front of him to direct her own stare at Minato and it made him cringe. Her stare was more deadly than an Uchiha's and frankly it made him uncomfortable. It was like looking into the eyes of a dragon ready to tear into you.

"There is nothing wrong with my son. What had happened in the Sandaime's office was nothing and the doctors agree. If you're finished checking up on my son I politely ask you to leave," she declared.

After that it was nothing but a stare off between him and the boy's mother and any expert could see that Minato was losing. When he was about to give up a voice managed to break the silence.

"I'm fine alright, but if you guys keep this up I'm gonna be scarred for life. Who else is gonna be with us?"

"We're still collecting shinobi for the mission so I'll get you a list in 3 days. The mission beings in 5 days so I suggest you get in as much fun as possible. Kaminari no Kuni can be a dangerous place if you don't know what you're doing" he explained. "Oh and if you're done hugging your mother she should probably leave. Visiting hours are over in 10 minutes."

Seiichi's face flushed red as he pulled his sheet over his head. "Very funny."

Satisfied with his accomplishment of embarrassing the boy, Minato left the hospital room and when he got far enough he looked back and smiled. "Next on the list is Kakashi." Minato disappeared into a cloud of smoke seeing as how he was nothing but a shadow clone.

* * *

><p><strong>Afternoon Of Konoha<strong>

Minato stopped walking abruptly as the memories of his clone flashed in his head. Now that Seiichi was out of the way he still needed to tell Kakashi. The boy would probably jump at the chance to join his sensei on a mission...as long as he wasn't aware of the fact that Seiichi was going to be joining the group.

One problem was that he was most likely on Seiichi's mother's bad side and he couldn't help but feel that it would come back and haunt him in the future. Well he couldn't please everybody he met.

He would go and inform Kakashi but right now he was busy. Kakashi may be the strongest out of the rest of the team but Minato didn't choose favorites. He treated everyone equally except Kushina. If he treated her like everyone else he wouldn't be walking straight anymore. Chuckling nervously, he continued walking with Obito towards the team's usual meeting place.

* * *

><p><strong>Alone<strong>

Kakashi continuously unleashed kunai and shuriken at the wooden post in his personal training ground. As far he knew, nobody had clue about this place. He made sure no one could follow him and he always covered his tracks.

The training ground actually belonged to his father and he told Kakashi about it before he died. It was one of the only few places Kakashi actually felt at peace and it was one of the only things his father personally left for him.

He threw a few shuriken seeing as how he couldn't practice any taijutsu with his arms all bandaged up. He stopped though when he felt them hurt more than they should so he decided to rest up.

He walked away from the post and sat down on the nearby bench, sighing he took a long look at the sky. The clouds floated by as usual and no matter what happened, time just kept marching on. But it only marched on for those who weren't stuck in the past. Although he would hate to admit, Kakashi was still stuck in the past and so time didn't march on to him. It simply stayed still.

His face took on a cool look and he closed his eyes. In his mind, flashed images of his past. Of him playing with father, or learning how to throw his first kunai. For the first time in a long time, he actually smiled.

After what seemed to be hours of reminiscing Kakashi stood back up and dusted himself. He needed to go and find his team. As much as he preferred being alone, this was one of the times they were useful. Taking one last look at the training ground, Kakashi walked away.

* * *

><p><strong>Evening<strong>

"Now that we're all here and since I still count as your sensei, tell me, how much training have you guys done since you became chuunin?" Minato asked both of his students. Although they weren't exactly a 'team' due to all of them becoming chuunin they still considered each other as such. Even Kakashi although he won't admit it.

"Well I've been focusing on my medical ninjutsu and I try to improve my taijutsu but..." Rin trailed off.

Minato smiled warmly at the girl, "I understand Rin." She had always been the sweet one in the group. She was like the glue that kept them together which worried Minato more because despite Kakashi's attitude, he wouldn't blow off meeting with Rin. He always had a soft spot for the girl.

"I still haven't unlocked my sharingan yet but I've gotten better in my taijutsu and ninjutsu. I still have problems with genjutsu, but what can I do if my chakra control isn't exactly precise?" Obito said, scratching the back of his head nervously.

Obito was a complicated one. His father had married out of the Uchiha family and because of that his Uchiha blood was weak. The Uchiha didn't expect Obito's sharingan to activate so he was constantly shunned by his own clan but Minato believed in his student. Even without the sharingan the boy was a great ninja. If only Obito realized he didn't need some fancy kekkei genkai to be great.

"When will you learn that you don't need kekkei genkai to be an incredible ninja? It's all hard work."

"I know sensei," Obito said in that same 'I know I know' voice. If only the boy would take his words to heart. Minato couldn't force him so it was all on the Uchiha.

"Sensei do you know when Kakashi will be here? I really wanted to tell him about my day in the hospital," Rin said, looking at her sensei expectantly.

Minato raised an eyebrow at that. He knew of the girls crush on the gray haired ninja but she usually kept her distance. "He said he was busy. Hopefully he'll get here before the sun sets."

And like that his prayer was answered when Kakashi suddenly showed up in the ramen stand. He sat next to Minato and ordered Miso ramen.

"Why can't you guys choose somewhere better than a ramen stand," Kakashi deadpanned.

"Come on Kakashi we always came here when we were still genin," Obito cheered. "Besides it's easier on the wallet than some cafe you randomly pick out."

Kakashi simply ignored the boy's answers.

Rin giggled at her teammates antics. "So how was your mission with the Hara's?"

Kakashi went stiff as a board and Obito went silent.

Minato sighed. It looked like that mission was still a touchy subject and Rin just threw salt in the wounds.

"How about we focus on what's ahead instead of what happened in the past," Minato said trying to restore any normalcy the group previously had. Unfortunately it was lost. Seeing right now as good a time as any, Minato decided to tell Kakashi. "Kakashi, I've decided to bring you on a mission with me to Kumo."

* * *

><p><strong>Jutsu used this chapter:<strong>

_**Tanuki Neiri no Jutsu(Feigning Sleep Technique):**_This ninjutsu forces the user to fall asleep

**A/N: Like the rest of my chapters this took awhile. Some(hopefully most) of you would recognize ****this jutsu as the one Gaara used on himself in order to bring out Shukaku. Since I have no consistency with guaranteeing the time I get away from school just expect this chapter next week...or two...depends on a lot of factors. Please Read & Review.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Insert Naruto OST Song Here - Self explanatory ain't it?**

_'xxxxxxxx'-thoughts_

* * *

><p><strong>Afternoon of Konoha<strong>

"Kakashi, I've decided to bring you on a mission with me to Kumo."

Kakashi was about to take off his mask in order to eat, but when he heard what Minato said his curiosity rose. He expected a new mission to come but not this soon. It was most likely another test for him so he decided to ask a few questions.

"Why choose me?" he asked. Now that he thought about it that was an easy question to answer.

"It's because I know your capable and I've worked with you before," Minato answered.

"Why Kumo?"

"Well we're not going inside the village itself, that would be suicide. We're just going to perform our own raid near the village and kill any Kumo nin we come across," Minato said looking at Kakashi with a stern face.

"Why don't you just go? You're strong enough to do this by yourself."

Minato smiled at his student's subtle compliment. "You overestimate my abilities Kakashi. I'm not sure I'm strong enough to take on their entire raiding force. Besides I heard they had someone who was as fast as me."

Kakashi's ears perked up that. Someone faster than his sensei. That was an impossible thought, one shared by many if not hundreds.

"Seriously? You think there's some faster than you Minato-sensei?" Obito yelled with a full mouth much to the disdain of everyone there.

"I said **as **fast as me not faster and please don't speak with your mouth open. You're embarrassing yourself in front of certain people," Minato said, gesturing towards Rin.

Obito's face flushed red as a tomato and the boy quickly swallowed and turned away from the group in embarrassment. _' At least he has some shame' _Kakashi thought.

"So in case you need help on this mission you'll have back-up right?"

A melancholy smile appeared on Minato's face when Kakashi said that. "It's more that if I die someone can still report back."

Kakashi nodded in acknowledgment and an air of sadness overcame the group. It was war time and every time they went on a mission there was a chance they wouldn't survive but from the way Minato put it, the chances of him making it back alive was lower than usual.

"Hey instead of sulking around, how about we go out and party. The sake is on me." Obito yelled trying to light up the mood.

"Nice try Obito, but your still too young to drink," Minato smiled back.

"That's true, but the moment we became shinobi we became adults" Kakashi jumped in.

"Exactly sensei!" Rin chirped.

A bead of sweat went down Minato's head and Kakashi thought they finally won until, "Look as long as I'm here none of you are drinking until you complete the journey that is puberty," Minato defended.

"I'm pretty sure I've crossed that field," Kakashi said coolly. His voice was deep, he had a mature mind, and he was pretty sure hair wasn't going to grow in anymore...unsavory places.

Minato rubbed Kakashi's head as though he was a child. "Sure you have," Minato said sarcastically.

Of course there was still the height factor.

"And besides you guys were whining like little children so you're not even mature enough," Minato stated to all three of them.

All of them, even Kakashi himself, lowered their heads in defeat.

"Your no fair sensei," Obito whined.

"Well that isn't my problem," Minato reprimanded the boy.

Now that Kakashi noticed they were saying all of this in front of the ramen stand owner. "I'm gonna guess you see things like this every day don't you?" Kakashi asked the man.

"Actually you'd be surprised at how many times I've seen this happen. My stand has been become a hot spot for all the genin teams so I get a lot of business," Teuchi replied happily.

Kakashi briefly wondered why some noodle stand got so much business, but he decided to dismiss the thought. He went back to his bantering teammates and gave out an annoyed sigh. They were making a lot of noise and it prevented him from thinking.

"So Rin, are you going to tell us about your day at the hospital?" Minato brought up.

"Hmm?" the girl let out with a small noodle hanging out her mouth. She quickly sipped it into her mouth and cleared her throat. "Oh sorry. I learned something that may be valuable to the mission you and sensei are going on." Her voice had taken a serious tone instead of the light joyful one she had earlier.

"When we received the bodies of the deceased it was strange."

"How so?" Minato asked the girl.

"Strange as in all of them came from Kumo and all signs of death came from either poison or a...gaping hole in their chest," she stated pausing before she had mentioned the gaping holes part.

Kakashi knew that although Rin loved being a medic and helping people, she sometimes couldn't handle the gruesome part of medical ninjutsu which kept her from going deeper into the art. Kakashi simply saw it as a weakness that she would have to solve by herself.

"I'm going to make a quick guess that this poison is reminiscent of the ones that Suna uses, correct?"

"Y-yeah. We ran tests and it came back that Suna uses the same compounds as the ones we found. The only difference is that it was made in such a way that those who were afflicted would suffer."

"That sounds heavy," Obito said.

"It could just be missing nin from Suna who's working on a pay role," Kakashi proposed.

"That's most likely right but just in case I need to check," Minato said standing up. He paid for his bowl and then left all three chuunin behind.

"I know I shouldn't think this, but why is that you get to go on the mission but I can't?" Obito asked Kakashi.

"It doesn't matter who goes on what mission Obito. As long as its completed it doesn't matter who did it," Kakashi reprimanded his teammate.

"Yeah but I'm just as good as you," Obito retorted.

_'Keep telling yourself'_ Kakashi thought. He looked down at his bowl and sighed, disappointed. It was cold now and it wouldn't be as good. He stood up and paid for his meal although he didn't eat it. "Thank you," he told Teuchi.

Without giving his team a goodbye, Kakashi left the stall leaving both of them behind. He was planning on training the next day so he needed to wake up early. Who knows, maybe he'd be able to master that jutsu he was working on, the Chidori.

* * *

><p>Obito scoffed at the white haired boy when he left. He hadn't even bothered to tell them goodbye, or even eat his food.<p>

"Why does he have to be so rude?" Obito muttered angrily. "Man he irks me. I mean really, he doesn't have to act like that."

Rin gave her comrade a disapproving look. "You shouldn't talk about your teammate behind their back."

"How do you know he doesn't talk about how 'weak' we are behind our backs?" he said mockingly.

This was met with a stinging feeling on his right cheek. Did Rin just slap him? But why? When he looked back at her he cringed at the look she was giving him.

"How dare you. I know that Kakashi could be a jerk sometimes, but that doesn't mean he would do such a thing."

"Then why does he look down on us all the time?"

"It's not his fault!"

What did she mean it wasn't his fault? Obito was pretty damn sure Kakashi was fully aware of what he was doing and what it did to the people around him, so why?

"His mother died when he was little and his own father committed suicide. Do you honestly think that he wasn't affected?" she yelled at him.

"W-well I," Obito stuttered. In all honestly he never actually considered the fact that Kakashi lost both of his parents. At least he had family, but Kakashi had no one but himself.

Obito could only watch as Rin left the stand leaving only him to pay for her food. "I'm the worst," he said, melancholy filling his voice. He meekly ate his ramen with almost no vigor.

"Don't worry, I'm sure she's one of those girls who can forgive and forget," Teuchi said reassuringly.

"You think so?" Obito asked regaining his positive demeanor.

"Nope" Teuchi replied with a joking smile.

"You like messing with people don't you?"

"No not really."

"Then wh-"

"Because I can."

The ramen stand was silent for a couple of seconds before Obito simply paid the man and left. He hoped Rin would forgive him the next time they met. Maybe he should get her some flowers as an apology. Yes! Flowers are the perfect gift and maybe at the same time he could ask her on a date. The plan was perfect!

Obito walked home with a spring in his step, happy that he might have finally mustered up the courage to ask Rin on a date tomorrow.

* * *

><p><strong>Morning<strong>

The next day Kakashi walked through the empty streets of Konoha, on his way towards his personal training ground. The only ones who were awake at the time were merchant's opening shop. Any other ninja were most likely resting before they were sent out to the battlefield again.

"Glad to see I'm not the only one who wakes up this early," a familiar voice called out.

Kakashi simply kept walking but he decided to at least answer the person, "Good morning Rin."

The girl stopped leaning against the wall and began to walk behind the white haired boy.

"So are you going to answer my question from yesterday?" the girl asked.

Kakashi raised his eyebrows. What was she talking about? He didn't remember her asking him a question at the ramen stand. "What question are you talking about?"

"You don't remember? I asked you and Obito what happened on your last mission."

Kakashi couldn't help but gulp at the girl's question. As long as Kakashi was concerned, that mission was taboo. It wasn't even a real mission, it was nothing but a genjutsu cast by Kurenai as a way of testing him. He'd rather not share what happened with anyone and he hoped the others had the same sentiment.

"Why do you need to know?" he said, with malice lacing his tone.

"I wanna what happened to give you those injuries you have on your arms," she said, disregarding the tone of his voice. "I haven't even gotten a good look at it yet, but even some beginner can realize that your arm was messed up".

Seeing it as a harmless thing to say (and to get the girl to leave him alone) Kakashi decided to answer her, "I got into a fight with Gari. He used these explosive clay birds and one was about to hit me, so I blocked it with my arms. I reinforced them with chakra, but all it did was keep them from being blown off."

"Did you even get it treated?" Rin grabbed his arm causing him to flinch. She actually began to examine it.

"Reiko treated them while I was unconscious."

"Kakashi, even you have to know that burns should be treated daily." Rin said, squeezing his arm.

The pain he felt causing him to go stiff in her grasp. No matter how much someone trained, pain will always be pain.

"You're coming with me to the hospital now!" Rin began to drag Kakashi away despite his protests of "I'm fine" or "Let me go".

"Look you're going to be treated whether you like it or not and I'd like it if you stopped acting like a child about it!" Rin yelled at him.

Dammit, for some reason she was stronger than him and Kakashi couldn't pull away from her. A substitution wouldn't work since she was holding on to him a bit too tight. "Child? Tch, says the medic nin who's afraid of dead bodies."

He appeared to have hit a nerve since she abruptly stopped. Her grip loosened on his arm and just when he thought he could escape she grabbed his arm with even more strength. "aaaahhhhhhhh" he howled in pain.

She gave him what he could only describe as the most angry glare he's ever seen, and then dragged him but with even more force than earlier.

"Your...hurting...me," Kakashi managed to let out.

She simply held on tighter and at that moment, Kakashi swore to never cross her again, lest he wished to lose a limb.

Fortunately they reached the hospital and Rin lightened her grip, much to the young boy's relief. When they walked inside, the last person Kakashi wanted to see bumped in to them.

* * *

><p><strong>Daylight of Konoha<strong>

Seiichi fiddled with a paper clip he found near his bed. He had to wait a day before the hospital released him because of his collapse in the Hokage's office. He couldn't tell them he knocked himself out because it was a secret and no more. If they knew about his tendency to go berserk when pushed over the edge emotionally they might do something to him.

His time in the hospital, despite how short, gave him time to reflect on his relationship with his father. The reason he hated his father was obvious, but the reason the man disliked his own son back was what troubled Seiichi. What did he do to the man that warranted his cold side?

He was the one who caused the boy's condition and because of that he would never forgive the man.

A nurse came in soon with a clipboard in hand. "Are you Seiichi Hara?" she asked.

"Yeah of course it's me."

"You're being released from the hospital today," she said frowning at the boy's rudeness.

"Finally!" he yelled in victory. He jumped from the hospital bed, ignoring the protests from the nurse to settle down. "I've been cooped up in this white hell for a day for **nothing**."

"I'd appreciate greatly if you didn't call my workplace a white hell," she replied smiling, but it was obvious she was angry at the boy.

Seiichi held up his hands defensively, a nervous smile on his face, "I'm so sorry for being rude. This place is heaven with its comfy beds, nice pillows, awesome food an-"

"Flattery will get you nowhere."

"-and cute nurses."

The nurse's face flushed red after his compliment. She threw a plastic bag at him and left the room in a hurry, leaving Seiichi to ponder what he just said.

"I guess I'm a flirt". He looked inside the bag and smiled to find his clothes. Without wasting anytime at all he threw off the piece of cloth they called clothes and put on his own threads.

He left the hospital room and walked down the halls of Konoha's hospital. Honestly, the place was a lot better than Kumo's white house. The food here was at least edible.

He passed the nurse from earlier, but she looked away with that red face of hers. He blushed slightly, still not believing he actually said that. He really did need to think before speaking.

He sure to check himself out at the counter. Thank god being a ninja gave you adult rights, the only thing he couldn't get was sake. Damn vendors and their rights to not serve whoever they want.

Seiichi turned around and was met with a sight that surprised him. Kakashi was on the floor, in pain, while a girl had a death grip on his most likely still burned arm. It was as if today was his birthday.

"Morning Kakashi. I see that you're having a good time," Seiichi chirped.

The masked ninja tried to give Seiichi his deadliest glare, but in his weakened state it may as well of been a puppy's pout.

Wanting to take advantage of the situation even more, Seiichi pressed on, "I guess you're still hurt after Gari did a number on you. He took off running by the end of my fight, but I guess he was tired after fighting you."

The boy looked ready to pounce on Seiichi but his girlfriend was holding him back. He would have continued but the girl tried her own glare and it almost made him wet himself so he quickly left. "Bye see you later Kakashi," he spat out before running outside of the hospital. The idiot must have done something stupid to piss her off.

Hopefully the white haired ninja wouldn't die from a healing session gone wrong.

* * *

><p><strong>Confrontment<strong>

Kakashi sat solemnly on a hospital bed, trying to be as still as virtually possible. Rin had removed the bandages from his arms and she was now treating his arms with her medical ninjutsu. Of course she had to tell the nurses and doctors that **she **would handle him.

"Would you like to say something to me Kakashi?" Rin asked the boy.

She must have been talking about an apology. What did he have to apologize for? It wasn't his fault she dragged him away, or his fault that she couldn't handle corpses. If anything, she should apologize for putting him through this whole ordeal. He should have been training by now but no, he was stuck inside the hospital with an angry brunette.

"Kakashi," she muttered dangerously.

Wanting the madness to stop Kakashi simply gave in, "I'm sorry Rin."

The girl made a 180 and went from pissed scowl, to a genuine smile. "Why thank you Kakashi. We're done now," she said standing up.

"What about the bandages?" Kakashi asked.

"Oh I'm sure you can put them on yourself. You're such a great ninja after all," she replied, that smile still plastered on her face.

Kakashi would have questioned her, but he chose not to, in fear that she might keep him there longer.

"Hn."

She left the room and Kakashi let out a breath he didn't even know he'd held in. There was still time left in the day so instead of taking the front entrance, the white haired boy went out the window in order to avoid any more hassles. Hopefully he'd get there before anyone else spotted him. Unfortunately with his luck, it might happen.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: No comment**


	7. Chapter 7

**Insert Naruto OST Song Here - Self explanatory ain't it?**

_'xxxxxxxx'-thoughts_

* * *

><p><strong>Confrontment<strong>

Katsuro stared down his adversary with a steely look. He went over his opponent with a critical eye, attempting to find a fault or weakness. Truly this man was impressive. "Hiashi, despite your young age, you make for an impressive clan leader."

"Why, thank you Katsuro but you still haven't answered my question. An alliance between our clans can only be solidified through an arranged marriage. We've already chosen acceptable candidates for your heir. Why do you continue to reject my offers?" Hiashi questioned.

The Hyuuga clan leader sat next to his brother on a blue tatami mat. They were in a medium sized room, in the west wing of the Hyuuga compound. They were the only ones in the room, save the bugs that were placed throughout it. Katsuro could easily locate them. As to why their conversation was being recorded was lost on him, Katsuro simply chose to ignore them. It wasn't as if he was planning anything.

"My son is...brash when it comes to things involving the clan. An arranged marriage would simply push him over the edge he's tiptoeing on."

"And why is that?" Hiashi questioned, retaining his stoic face.

"That is something you need not know. All I can tell you is that the elders seem to reject his standing as my heir and have been pushing me to conceive a second child despite my protests."

"From what I've heard you don't get along with your son, why do you not agree with the elders?"

"Our relationship is...complicated."

"Hmph, since you continue to reject my proposals for an arranged marriage, we have nothing to speak of. I would appreciate it if you showed yourself out the door," Hiashi stated, activating his Byakugan.

Katsuro gave the man a mischievous smirk before standing up and leaving the room. This had been the 6th clan leader in Konoha that he had visited. He was on good terms with the Akimichi, Nara, and the Yamanaka. He was on neutral terms with the Uchiha and Aburame, but he stayed the hell away from the Inuzuka. Associating with them was probably the last thing he would do considering the relationship between their clans.

He finally exited the Hyuuga compound and sighed in relief. He felt naked in front of the clan who could see through anything. It was disheartening to say the least.

A walk through the village calmed his nerves. Konoha had a much calmer atmosphere than Kumo. Maybe it was the police force that kept crime on a low level, or it was the less than hostile kage. Whichever the reason, it didn't change the fact that the others enjoyed their time there. He would do anything to keep his clan happy and leaving Kumogakure was the best decision to of have been made. Even the clan's elders agreed with him, which was quite rare considering they valued loyalty.

Soon he arrived at the district the Hokage had rented out to him and his clan. It was a set of houses tucked into a corner of the village that was strangely unoccupied. There were enough buildings to house his clan and soon they would own it when the Hokage made them full citizens of Konoha.

Unfortunately the Sandaime was beginning to pressure Katsuro for information he had on Kumo. Although he would love to oblige to the man there was a seal placed on him that would alert the Raikage. If he spoke then the man will attack Konoha with full force, as compared to the petty raids his shinobi were already performing and Katsuro wanted to keep it that way as long as possible. The Raikage was ruthless when he dealt with traitors and leaks. His clan would be marked as prime targets on the battlefield, so he needed to postpone the scenario for as long as possible.

He came upon his own house and when he entered his face hardened. Seiichi was sitting cross-legged, deep in meditation. The boy wasn't a gifted ninja like his father, but he tried as much as the others. He always used rigorous training methods, and he was glad that the boy was meditating.

"I'm impressed, your actually able to sit still for more than a few minutes," Katsuro said with a small smirk on his face.

Seiichi's face twisted in annoyance at the man's comment, "And I can stay still for longer if you left me alone."

"How's Reiko?" Katsuro was merely curious of the boy's reaction. Seiichi had begun to show interest in his cousin. It wasn't anything romantic of course.

"She's still mad at me for some stupid reason," he answered, a frown decorating his face.

While it didn't prove his theory correct, it still meant that the boy actually cared about the girl's opinion. Seiichi ignored the other clan members, including himself. He needed to learn more things about his son. Ignoring his heir for years was a bad move on his part but it needed to be done. An evaluation on the boy's state of mind was needed, hopefully before "**that" **time.

"Are you sure I can't go on another mission?" Seiichi's voice was closer than it should be so Katsuro turned around, only to notice Seiichi right behind him.

His stealth skills had actually improved from the last time, or maybe he just wasn't paying attention. "Why should I change your mission just to accommodate your needs?" The boy's next words would decide his fate.

Seiichi cleared his throat and looked at him straight in the eye. "The mission objective is to infiltrate Kaminari no Kuni, and perform raids on the villages throughout, also eliminating any enemy shinobi we come across."

"And why is that a problem?" Katsuro bellowed, stepping closer to Seiichi while still giving the boy a glare. He didn't even flinch.

"Since our clan left Kumogakure, they refer to us as traitors. If we were to come across enemy ninja their main target will be me."

"So you're saving your own skin like a coward then?"

"No...Katsuro-sama," the boy forced out, "I merely have the clans best interest in mind. If I were killed on the battlefield, the clan will lose its only current heir. This will inflict a blow to the clan and cause a drop of morale among us, making it harder for them to complete missions. Our members will become prominent targets and in their state they may be killed."

Katsuro had to suppress a proud smile. Chances are the clan would actually prefer if he died on the battlefield, but the young Hara meant every word of it, or that's what his body language indicated at least.

"Not only that, but a few Inuzukas will be in the group along with Kakashi Hatake who doesn't get along with me. This increases chances of fatality and failure which makes the choice of appointing me on the mission unwise."

The boy had attacked his decision with that last one. Maybe there was still hope for him yet. "Fine, but know that this the last time I will acknowledge your decision on such matters. Do you understand?"

The boy's eyes widened momentarily but returned to normal quickly. "Y-yes Katsuro-sama."

"Don't worry, I'll deal with Namikaze. Once I explain your reasoning he'll see it unfitting to bring you. You may go back and meditate now."

The boy walked away (more like scampered) from the clan head in a hurry. Katsuro proceeded back upstairs, finally relieving the tension in his face by smiling. Finally the boy was learning to yield. One cannot lead without showing humility, and his son did exactly that. Instead of whining like a child he came up with an argument and presented it accordingly. Looks like he'll have to speed up his plans for the boy.

* * *

><p><strong>Morning<strong>

The skies were clear on the mission day. The village was mostly quiet, since it was still early in the morning. The sun's rays shined through the windows, illuminating the Hatake's home.

It was the day they would leave for Kaminari no Kuni. Kakashi sat down in his living room and looked over the supplies that were fully laid out in front of him. From weaponry to basic med kits, truly this had to be the best emergency layout he ever made.

He took out a scroll and unraveled it, revealing a storage seal (that Minato was happy to loan). He made the correct set of handsigns and effectively sealed everything. He rolled the scroll back up and placed it in his kunai pouch. He locked his door and began to walk towards the meeting spot.

Soon he arrived at the villages northern gates, noticing that some of the other shinobi made it before him. He recognized Minato among the group of shinobi who had already gathered. He was talking to another man who Kakashi didn't recognize.

They seemed to be arguing over something and Kakashi couldn't help but eavesdrop a little.

"Minato, I respect you as a fellow shinobi but it was a fool's choice to let that boy come with us."

"I understand your problem Mamoru, but it's not up to you to decided who goes on this mission."

"But the boy's father-"

"That is irrelevant Mamoru and you know it. This argument is asinine, and it's better you not embarrass yourself more than you already have," Minato chastised the man.

Mamoru and his animal partner gave the man a growl but Minato merely shrugged it off.

Kakashi already knew they were talking about him. Whenever someone's father was mentioned, it was most likely directed at him but he didn't care. Let them gossip all they want.

"Ohayo Hatake," Minato said, smiling sheepishly at the boy.

"Ohayo Namikaze," Kakashi replied. They always referred to each by last names while on missions. Kakashi couldn't remember the reason why, but he guessed it was just something that started during his genin days.

"Have you packed all of your supplies Hatake?" Minato questioned.

"Of course," Kakashi replied dryly. He didn't want to deal with the man's doting right now. Minato should already know by now that he always came prepare for a mission.

Minato yawned. "Glad to know. We head out in 10 minutes, and we'll be going non-stop until we hit Yu no Kuni, so I suggest you stretch out a bit or get something in your stomach."

Kakashi gave the man a blank stare before he walked away and found a spot to settle in, underneath one of the trees that were scattered throughout the village. He sat down cross-legged and began to mediate. He already ate when he woke this morning and he stretched around the same time.

He took slow and deep breathes and began to exercise his sensor abilities. While he wasn't as skilled as the specialist ninja sensors, he could still trace chakra signatures. Having an advanced sense of smell also helped a little. It was impressive to say the least considering he was already skilled in many other fields.

In total there were 15 ninja in their group. If the fatality rate was applied, only 8-9 would make it back alive. They all had the mindset that this mission could be their last and as pessimistic as was, it had its benefits. Everyone would be alert, less mistakes would be made, and no one will hold back. What other way to die than after you've used all the jutsu in your repertoire and pushed your body to its very limit? Even Kakashi agreed with that way of thinking, especially if the mission called for it. Ninja may operate in the dark, but no one wanted to leave this world and not be remembered. Although it was almost unnoticable he could pick up a strange chakra signature that suddenly appeared next to Minato's. And just like it appeared the signature disappeared. Seeing it as nothing, Kakashi returned to his meditating.

It was now time for them to go and Kakashi stood back up, brushing himself off. He saw Obito who was assigned to the mission at the last moment. _'That idiot Seiichi dropped out of the mission at the last moment. Although that I'd prefer Obito being on this mission, why did the Hara drop out?' _Kakashi thought solemnly.

"Remember, nonstop until we're near the border between Hi no Kuni and Yu no Kuni." Minato yelled out to the others. After that he turned around and took off into the trees, and everyone trailed after.

Everyone already knew of the positions they would take. Kakashi was in the rearguard while Minato and Obito took up the vanguard. Mamoru was also in the front, most likely arguing with Minato. He couldn't help but chuckle a bit when he heard Minato reprimand the man.

He began to scan the rest of the group and only a few looked familiar. There were shinobi from some of the prominent clans in Konoha, like the Akimichi, though orphaned ninja took up the majority.

After what had to have been at least 4 hours of straight running the group of ninja finally stopped. Kakashi's legs felt like lead along with some of the others.

"We'll rest here and then leave for Shimo no Kuni. We'll be leaving again in the next 3 hours, by then I expect all of you to be ready," Minato pronounced to all of them, "I advise against leaving the group. We're about to cross into enemy territory, seeing as Yuni no Kuni and Shimo no Kuni have allied with Kumogakure."

Kakashi, in his exhaustion induced state, could only nod in acknowledgment. He knew better than to complain in front of the other ninja. People already breathed down his neck constantly, and he'd prefer it if they didn't have any ammo to use against him. While everyone found their spots on the ground below Kakashi decided to stay up in the trees. That way he wouldn't be a sitting duck like the rest.

"Kakashi," a lone voice called out.

"What is it Obito?" Kakashi breathed out. Of all the people who approached him, it had to very well be the Uchiha.

The goggle wearing boy sat on a branch nearby and gave him a questioning look. "On the way here, some of the shinobi were talking about you. They said some things and I was just curious. What happened with your dad?"

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the Uchiha. Since their first mission together he knew that the boy had no tact, but this was ridiculous. Kakashi closed his eyes and sighed in annoyance, "I don't need to tell you anything."

"Tch, whatever. I just wanted to know is all. Everyone else kept calling him a traitor and I was just curious," the black haired boy said before he dropped from his branch and rested on the ground like the rest.

Kakashi went back to resting, closing his eyes slowly, with the wind cooling him off. He could feel some of the glares being directed toward him. People still judged him on what happened with his father but he didn't mind. He could already tell that today was gonna be a long day. Hopefully it wouldn't be his last.

* * *

><p><strong>Sakuras Theme<strong>

The air was littered with the smell of antiseptics and blood that managed to get past the air conditioning system. She was in the break room that was for well...breaks. It had a mini-fridge that was situated in the far corner of room next to a medium-sized counter. There was a window that let in the sunlight and next to it was her target, a white leather couch. The healer couldn't help but notice the emptiness that was evident throughout the room.

Rin plopped herself down on to the couch, sweat beading her forehead, and her ragged breathing communicated that she was obviously tired. A new patient had rolled in earlier and all the other better medics were already busy, leaving her and couple of other novice healers to deal with it.

What made her feel even worse was the burning sensation of her lunch wanting to exit out the way it came in. When they called her she wasn't expecting the patient to be in such a critical condition.

He was missing one of his legs, the poor limb was burned right off leaving a simmering hump of flesh behind. A large gash had decorated his chest and the skin around it was obviously burnt. It had taken all of her self control and training as ninja to not faint at the sight. It was hard to count how many times one of the others had stopped during the operation and just stared at the body. There was a lot of yelling and close calls.

It was an utter miracle that the man had lived through it all. His career as a ninja was over, that was a definite, but it could have been a lot worse. He would have gone into an eternal sleep, but considering his current condition, it may have been better if he died.

Rin leaned back into the couch and closed her eyes. She couldn't fall asleep yet. This was merely a break and soon she would have to go and heal and take care of more patients. There was still more chakra left in her reserves, but chakra exhaustion was still a possibility and the hospital needed all medic-nin on command.

When she opened her eyes she was met by a relieving sight. A hand was held out to her and it had a soldier pill. Without even thinking she grabbed it and popped it into her mouth and swallowed it. The effects were almost instantaneous as the extra energy washed throughout her body.

"Watch it there. We don't need you getting addicted to the stuff do we?"

Rin could only roll her eyes. "I know better than to rely on them Kushina-senpai."

The redhead gave the girl one of her fox like grins TM . "No need with the formalities Rin. Only Kakashi has to do that. You don't have a stick up your butt do you?"

"Kushina-senpai, you know I don't like it when people talk about Kakashi.". It was true. She hated it when people talked about Kakashi or any of her teammates behind their backs. If your going to insult someone you should do it right in their face.

The grin melted off her face only to be replaced by a soft smile. "You know when I was little I always used to get teased because of my red hair."

Rin raised her eyebrows in curiosity and surprise. "B-but you're so pretty and your red hair makes you look exotic and I heard boys liked that kind of thing."

"Believe or not I used to be kinda pudgy when I was little," Kushina chuckled, "I beat up the kids who teased me and because of my temper and the color of my hair I got the nickname 'Red Hot-Blooded Habanero."

Rin chuckled slightly. Minato always used to talk about how much of a temper Kushina had and how many times she pounded his head whenever he made her angry. "Minato-sensei always did talk about how rowdy you were sometimes."

A tick formed on Kushina's head as her face grew a light blush. "Maybe I should remind him about what happens when he talks about me in such a way dattebane!" Kushina sat down next to Rin, her voice becoming a whisper. "I always used to pull pranks of everyone in the village for fun. Though that was because I wanted attention. No one understood me and because of that I acted out.

"I was kidnapped by Kumo shinobi once because of my special chakra. After sometime I thought I was a goner."

Rin looked down as though in guilt. Now that she thought about, there were still people in the world who were less than fortunate then her. Her earlier patient was a prime example. It just didn't seem fair, especially when people like her had an easy life.

"I had given up all hope...until he came and rescued me. Minato actually managed to see the trail I left with my hair. He even took down all of the shinobi who kidnapped me, all in a few seconds."

"Kushina-senpai, while that story is heartwarming I don't see how it relates to Kakashi-kun."

"What I'm saying is that after he rescued me, things changed. I now had someone who actually cared about me, who wouldn't reject me. He even loved me for the thing I hated the most; my red hair. What you need to understand is that right now, Kakashi is in the same position I was in back then. He just needs someone who would care for him and who knows, maybe that person could be you."

Rin's face turned the shade of crimson at the implication. Sure she usually thought about how it would be if both her and Kakashi were together but this was the first time somebody actually (subtlety) suggested it to her. "A-alright Kushina-senpai. I-I'll try," she stuttered out.

"Good to hear. You should probably get back to your station. They still need you there." Kushina stood back and walked away, leaving the brunette alone to ponder her words.

A beeping noised sounded throughout the room, pulling Rin from her thoughts. It looked like her break was finally over. Sighing in resignation, the brunette lifted herself up from her chair and walked through the white hospital doors into the treatment room next door.

_'He just needs someone who would care for him,'_ the words repeated themselves in her head. _'I already care about him,'_ she thought, _'He just doesn't realize it.'_

* * *

><p><strong>Survival Examination<strong>

Kakashi stood right back up as the signal to continue was sounded. Well it wasn't really sounded, god forbid they drew the attention of some scouting squad. It was more of thing that everyone knew what to look for. It just showed how everyone was in synchronization.

The group took off into the trees again, everyone falling in line. He was fully rested now from their earlier trek. Right now he had his entire mind focused on the mission. It would begin soon and this time no mistakes will be made. Any enemy ninja who got in his way, would be cut down without hesitation.

"Doesn't it feel strange?"

Kakashi shifted his eyes towards the source of the voice. Two of the shinobi were speaking with each other. Those idiots weren't even paying attention to the surroundings. Shinobi rule #6, Always be vigilant. No matter where you were on the battlefield, even if you've found the safest place, always be on your guard. Clearly they'd either forgotten or didn't care. Kakashi was about to interrupt their little conversation until a few words made him stop.

"When Minato was talking to that Anbu earlier I heard something about a second mission," the older of the two said. He wore the standard chuunin uniform. His hair was the same shade of brown as Rin's but his was shorter.

"You've got to be kidding," the younger one stated. He looked identical to the other except for slight difference in their appearance. They might as well have been twins.

"Look I'm not kidding Saizo, I swear I heard him."

Saizo simply rolled his eyes. "Chances are you misheard him. If there was another objective to this mission, Minato would definitely tell us."

Kakashi remembered the chakra signature that appeared next to Minato but he had chose to ignore since it didn't seem important, but from what he just heard; he was wrong. The gears began to turn in Kakashi's head until it clicked. He wouldn't tell anyone because it didn't involve them. It was another test, like last time. Except this time, things wouldn't be some complicated genjutsu. No, it'll be real and now that Kakashi thought about it, he welcomed the test. This time he'll prove himself. Nothing will go wrong.

Now if only he could figure out what the second mission was. With the secrecy it was most likely a trial by fire. They'd send him in to deal with whatever needed to be dealt it, hoping that he'd return stronger, sharper, smarter.

Trapped in his thoughts, he almost didn't notice when the group finally stopped. He looked ahead and focused his attention on the blonde man, his eyes narrowing in preparation for anything.

"Alright then. What all of you know is that the goal of this mission to use guerrilla war tactics in order to warn Kumogakure to back off." The blonde man ran his eyes through the crowd of shinobi before him, seeing their looks of confusion, except on the face of a certain Hatake.

A smirk formed on Kakashi's lips but it was hidden away by the mask he always wore. Minato was revealing the second mission right now.

"What you don't know is that our team was also assigned a second mission," the blond paused, waiting for it settle in. "It's come to our attention that Kumo has hired a rogue Suna shinobi to assist them and our second mission is to eliminate him. It has also come to our attention that he is also assisting the Iwa Shinobi. We already have a general idea of where he is but not the amount of ninja he currently has traveling with him."

"How about we split up," an all too familiar voice spoke out.

"And why would you suggest that Obito?" Mamoru, the Inuzuka from earlier, questioned.

"Since the mission we were first assigned is time sensitive, coupled with the fact that the rogue shinobi could move at any minute, we're at a crossroads."

"But wouldn't that divide our forces and make them weaker?" one of the other shinobi in the group asked. He got nods of agreement from the others.

"It's the only option we have this point. And we can improve our relationship with Suna if we capture one of their rogue shinobi" Kakashi said, backing up Obito's plan. The others shot a wary look towards him but he simply ignored it as though it didn't happen.

"Alright then. Now that we've decided on a course of action, we need to select teams," the Yellow Flash said, surveying the potential candidates. In truth he had already picked them out from the beginning. "Kakashi, Obito, Asami, and Takumi."

All ninja jumped on to a branch in front of Minato, serious looks decorating their faces.

Now that Kakashi noticed it, the other two were also around the same age as him. Was the village testing all of them? _'You are the next generation. The village expects great things from you'_ a voice whispered in his ear. Kakashi had to try his hardest not to look surprised. That voice...it was so familiar. It...was his father's voice. B-but why?

"Now, we believe that the target is somewhere in Ta no Kuni, masquerading as a merchant. We've received reports of caravans being attacked on a trade route but we simply dismissed it as normal bandits. When we learned that the attacker had a Suna headband then we began an investigation and it came to our attention that he was being employed by Kumo. Here's the map of the route of where the attacks took place," Minato said handing over a scroll to Kakashi. "You'll be the leader for this four-man cell. I expect your group to meet us here in 2 days." The four shinobi saluted the Yellow Flash.

Minato signaled for the rest of the shinobi to follow him, and so the rest took off, leaving the young shinobi to contemplate their mission.

Kakashi opened the scroll, unveiling a storage seal. After retrieving the map he took a long at it. He recognized the route as Hebinomichi. It wasn't a popular route due to the snakes that surrounded the area, but that's what made it advantageous. The snakes acted as a natural detergent to bandits who camped out in the forests. Only a shinobi could stay there and still be alive, or at least not bitten.

He activated the storage seal again, revealing a small box. When he opened he smiled. It was an array of different vials in small glasses with different names of snakes on them. Anti-venom. In one corner there was a few syringes. It had the words Cure printed in clear letters on them. Rin's explanation of the body's from days ago flashed in his mind and he realized their purpose. The missing-nin was using poison so they made a cure for it.

He turned a look towards his makeshift team and examined the new faces.

The boy was taller than all of them and he had a weird glint his green eyes. His short brown hair was untidy and disheveled. He wore the standard chuunin uniform vest with blue pants and sandals. He had a rough chin with a small scar.

The girl had long black hair that stretched to her waist. Her eyes were a deep shade of blue and her chin was sharp. She wore a long loose sleeved zip-up jacket with a camouflage patter. She also wore a black cargo pants.

"The enemy is located somewhere around the Hebinomichi trading route, however, since he's accepting missions from other countries we have to acknowledge the fact he may not be there when we find him or that he has back-up," he spoke, loud enough for them to hear.

"So we should all stay completely aware of our surroundings and be prepared for any variables. Sounds like another day of being a ninja," Obito spoke nonchalantly.

"Don't screw this one up Uchiha," Kakashi spoke.

Obito directed a stare at Kakashi, which the white haired ninja ignored. "Whatever Hatake," Obito gave in.

Sensing the hostility between the two, the boy, Takumi, spoke up. "We should go now since he might be on the move. We're gonna have to watch each others backs from now on."

Kakashi nodded sensing the boy's hidden message. They were supposed to be a team and he was causing the problems first. Maybe he should try to be at least civilized.

"Tch, whatever." Obito jumped into the trees and took off. Kakashi sighed in annoyance. Maybe being civilized won't solve any of their problems after all.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well I'm finally here with chapter 7. Entering the end of the semester and I can't wait till summer vacation. Too bad its being shortened. I plan on rewriting some of the earlier chapters or I'm gonna at least try to improve them. I might start putting up dates and chances are I'll name the chapters. Expect some action next chapter. Don't mind the the OC's Takumi and Asami. They're just there to fill the four-man cell. Seiichi won't be showing up for a few chapters as well. Well, please read and review. **


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